What Lies Beneath’ – Embracing Your Engine Bay
Engine bay restorations are one of the more common requests I get from (returning and prospective) customers. Engine bays can quickly become an area of neglect and worry, a casualty of their dark, foreboding and inaccessible nature. “Out-of-sight, out of mind!”
Despite the accessibility challenges, boaters (out of sheer necessity) frequently run the engine bay gauntlet – to grease the stern gland, clear the weed hatch, access auxiliary equipment, and of course, to check the engine’s vitals every now and again! These journeys into the deep often leave one bumped, bruised and traumatized, with suppressed memories of faulty bilge pumps, water ingress, oil spills, and rust-strewn horrorscapes reappearing menacingly from their shadowy abyss. OK, I’m being melodramatic, but sometimes it can feel a tad daunting to say the least.
Entering your engine bay can feel daunting but don’t be put off
Eventually closing the hatch, erasing the memories, and running for the hills becomes a less and less viable option. It’s time to embrace your engine bay!! And there are several reasons to care. A clean, dry and rust-free engine bay enhances longevity and boat safety. Exposed electric cables, pooling water, fuel spills and high temperatures can all pose a safety risk. Excessive corrosion can lead to breaks, failures and pitting. Improved accessibility/visibility for inspection also helps with routine maintenance (such as checking engine bay mounts) and renewing BSS certification etc.
The first thing is that, in my experience, it’s (almost always) never as bad as it looks. It’s not unusual to find water in your engine bay, to find a flimsy auto-bilge knocked over or with a wire or two loose, or to find areas where frequently submerged paint has start to peel and expose bare steel – which inevitably starts to rust. The first step is to remove any lying water (a wet vac comes in very handy here) and give the engine bay a thorough top-to-bottom clean (jet washing can help remove dirt, debris and loose rust/paint flakes; a good degreaser invaluable for removing grime and oil/fuel spills; and, good old elbow-grease for the rest).
Water, rust, wonky wires, and broken bilge pumps are not uncommon sights in engine bays
Once you have a clean and dry working space, you can inspect for any water entry points (e.g., blocked guttering around the engine bay hatch, a loose/leaky weed hatch cover, a stern gland in need of greasing etc.) and assess any areas requiring attention. Surface rust can then be removed (e.g., with a twisted knot wheel brush on an angle grider, needle scaler, or even an old-fashioned wire brush), painted surfaces keyed (e.g. with a light sand), and underlying rust treated with one of the many specialist products on the market (Owatrol Rust Inhibitor, Vactan, Fertan etc.).
Cleaned, dried, loose rust/paint flakes removed, and ready for rust treatment & painting
The engine bay can now be primed with a high zinc-content primer (which can be mixed with 20% Owatrol Rust Inhibitor for additional rust protection), before receiving one or more topcoats of a high-quality marine ‘bilge and locker’ paint – typically not the cheapest but worth it for the added durability and peace of mind that you won’t have to re-do the whole thing in a few month’s time! You don’t need to be the world’s best painter and the engine bay is a discrete place to learn. Good paint, quality rollers & brushes, copious amounts of blue roll, a “turpsey rag” (aka a bit of cloth doused in white spirit) and a box of nitrile/vinyl disposable gloves will all make the job easier.
About 4 days, end-to-end, to bring your engine bay back to life, good as new!!
